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California at center of solar power trade war with China

by Marjorie Sun, California Report | Take Two

Chinese workers inspect a solar panel at the Tianxiang Solar Energy Equipment Factory in Huaibei, east China's Anhui province on March 21, 2012. China sought to defuse a trade row with the US after the latter imposed duties on Chinese solar products, saying it would not hurt ties, even as state media cried protectionism. AFP/AFP/Getty Images

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Solar panels are at the heart of a trade war between China and the United States. Federal trade officials recently authorized sanctions against China for "dumping" solar components on the U.S. market below cost. China is the world's biggest producer of solar panels, and yet, very few are installed there domestically.

In fact, many end up on rooftops here in California. "Cheap solar" has been good for consumers here but bad for the state's own makers of solar energy hardware.

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